April Boyd-Noronha, also known as The STEM Broker, is currently the Global Diversity & Inclusion Advisor and Board Member of the XR Safety Intelligence (XRSI), the first 501c3 global SDO with the mission of helping safeguard emerging realities.
April has over 20 years of experience in academia and advanced technologies as an author, global keynote speaker, thought leader, and advisor on emerging trends and the future of work on diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and accessibility of historically marginalized populations. She also is the Global Security Awareness Manager for Cardinal Health responsible for engaging 40k+ employees in over 30 countries. April continues to blaze a trail in equitable practices as the first Black elected school board member of the Shawnee Mission School District (SMSD) which is the 3rd largest school district in the state of Kansas. She is the parent of three technologists who are accomplished motivational presenters who share their experience of pursuing a STEM career track in cybersecurity, engineering, and avionics/drones. For more information, visit www.thestembroker.com.

Jason Dickson started working with the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) in 2004 as an Application Developer. He became Chief Information Officer in January 2020 after being IT Section Chief for nine years. Jason oversees the agency's IT architecture, budget, and planning while also continuing application development. He is a member of the Executive team where he emphasizes IT in the agency's overall mission and strategic plan.

Technology professional with 30 plus years’ experience in information technology, including coordination, management oversight of corporate technology initiatives. Emphasis on problem-solving and technical leadership for the planning, management, and implementation of infrastructure solutions for mission-critical environments with both on-prem datacenters as well as cloud hosted SAAS, IAAS, and PAAS implementations. with server virtualization solutions, security implementations, large system implementations and LAN/WAN initiatives.

With over 25 years in technology, Mike brings a wide variety of technical knowledge and experience to his role of CIO. Before being promoted to CIO two years ago, he led areas of IT Infrastructure, IT Security, and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) working directly with divisions and departments to align technologies with organizational strategy and business goals. Mike also serves on the Leadership Team for the organization and is a member of several strategic teams, committees and boards determining County policies and setting budget priorities.
“Our departments do amazing things, and our role as an IT Division is to give them the technical tools and resources they need to deliver their services in the most efficient, effective, and accurate way possible. We know it can literally mean life or death.”

Greg Gann is a 25-year IT veteran at Sedgwick County, Wichita, KS. Greg currently serves as IT Business Solutions Group Director overseeing IT Development, Database Services, Web Development, Application Management, Project Management, and Geographical Information Services. He holds a BS in Computer Science & MS In Management Information Systems (MMIS) from Friends University and certificates in Project Management from PMI.org & Wichita State University. Greg also serves as Sedgwick County’s Payment Card Industry Digital Security Standards (PCI-DSS) Officer. He is a member of the Kansas Information Technology Executive Council (ITEC), serving as County representation for 105 Kansas counties. Greg is also a Kansas Notary Public.

Tommy Gardner is HP’s Chief Technology Officer for HP Federal, spanning the US Federal Agencies, Higher Education, K-12 Education, State and Local government customer segments, as well as Federal Systems Integrators. His current responsibilities include technology leadership, strategic technology plans, product and technology strategies, sales force technical support, and customer and partner relationships.
Previously, Tommy has served as the Chief Technology Officer for Jacobs Engineering, Scitor, and ManTech. Earlier in his career he was a senior technical executive at Raytheon. In the U.S. Navy he served as the Deputy for Science and Technology for the Chief of Naval Research. He oversaw the Navy’s Deep Submergence Program as well as its Advanced Technology Program. He also commanded the nuclear submarine, USS San Juan (SSN 751).
Tommy’s educational background covers multiple disciplines and fields of interest including: cybersecurity, data science, blockchain, quantum information science, artificial intelligence, high performance computing and systems integration.
Tommy holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy, a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University, an M.S. in Management of Technology from MIT and a Ph. D. in Energy Economics from George Washington University. He is a Professional Engineer, an ASME Fellow, and serves on the ASME Board of Governors, the ANSI Board of Directors and the U. S. Council on Competitiveness as the Co-chair of the Advanced Computer Roundtable.

Adrian Guerrero, CPM is the Director of Operations of the Kansas State Board of Nursing. Adrian has worked for the board since the year 2000. He serves as the agency Director of Technology and Budget Finance Officer and is responsible for the strategic direction and implementation of advanced technology and business solutions. Additionally, he is responsible for the primary oversight over the Licensing, Human Resources, Procurement, and Information Technology departments.
Adrian was also elected to the Board of Directors as Treasurer of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) in 2019 and previously served as Area II Director for the midwestern states. NCSBN is an independent, multi-million-dollar, not-for-profit organization through which nursing regulatory bodies act and counsel together on matters of common interest and concern affecting public health, safety and welfare, including the development of nursing licensure examinations.
Adrian has received various prestigious honors including the; NCSBN Meritorious Service Award, Topeka’s Top 20 Under 40, CPM-George C. Askew Award and Bronze Government Sector Horizon Award for the Kansas Nursing Alexa Skill.

Mike Gutierrez leads a team of engineering and integration experts, and he oversees all aspects of technical operations to ensure our solutions are operating at a high level. This includes managing integrations and supporting the engineering team.
With two decades of experience in IT specializing in system integration, mergers and acquisition, BI, and security, Mike has the technical and management expertise to ensure PayIt can successfully integrate into any back-office or third-party system.
Before joining PayIt in 2019 to lead our integration and technical operations strategy, Mike was the long-time Corporate Director of IT for Safe Fleet. Mike attended Northampton Community College where he received an associate degree in Application Development and received a bachelor’s degree from DeVry University in Technical Management.

My professional career has primarily been focused on technology and communications. Before joining the State of Kansas in 2017, I was honored to design and implement Kansas’ first commercial Internet Service Provider in 1992. I later worked as the CEO of two independent phone companies. Within that state, I started as the CIO for the Kansas Highway Patrol. I later transitioned to the Department of Labor during the height of the pandemic. In my current position, I assist agencies with the often complex (or confusing) process of procuring technical solutions. My wife and I have been married for 40 years, and I am just five classes (and a dissertation) away from my Ph.D.

Nolan Jones is the General Manager for Tyler Kansas. He has been in this role for the past six years. He has been with NIC/Tyler Technologies for 17 years and has served in a variety of roles. Jones has more than 20 years of government-sector experience.
He was formerly the CIO for the Colorado Department of Revenue. He has also served as the Director of Motor Vehicles and the Manager of Tax Policy and Innovation for the Department of Revenue. Prior to NIC, Jones held the position of General Legal Council and Director of Operations for En Technologies, an IBM solutions integration technology company. Jones has a Bachelor’s from the University of Washington and a JD from the Seattle University School of Law.

Joe has been working in Information Technology for over 25 years, including experience in networking, security, as a Director, and in project management. In that time, he has had the opportunity to work in the sectors of banking, health care, and criminal justice. He has been the Chief Information Officer at the Kansas Bureau of Investigation since 2014 and is currently the President of the International Justice and Public Safety Network (Nlets).

Jeff was appointed Interim Chief Information Technology Officer (CITO) in January 2023. He has been with the State of Kansas since 2009, most recently serving as the State’s Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). He will continue in his role as CISO while serving as CITO.
Jeff brings a wealth of experience to the role. In his 12 plus years with the State, he has forged relationships with agency leadership and the legislature. His work on cybersecurity from a whole-of-state approach has improved the cyber posture of Kansas and created collaborative opportunities for how state, local, and critical infrastructure work together.
While with the State, Jeff has been the recipient of several awards including recognition in 2022 as a top Global CISO by Cyber Defense Magazine. He holds licenses and professional certifications, including Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Certified Information Security Manager (CISM), and Certificate of Cloud Security Knowledge (CCSK). In addition, Jeff serves as a Cyber Defense Systems Operations Craftsman for the Kansas Air National Guard. He holds a Master of Science in Information Assurance and Cybersecurity from Capella University and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Science from Washburn University.

As the CIO for the largest City in Kansas, Mike is accountable for all Information Technology and Innovation serving 17 City departments in over 90 locations. Mike has oversight of the full suite of technology and innovation services; security, policy, process, digital transformation, Smart City, network, development, data services and budget management across the enterprise. In his tenure, Mike has implemented What Works Cities, Open Data, Smart City, ERP implementation, and numerous P3’s executed for business value attainment without increasing staff. Increased online transactions from 2 million to over 76 million dollars annually. Focused on business process change and the citizen experience, placing technology for impact and outcomes. With over 30 years of experience in IT, 14 of those as a CIO, Mike continues to innovate and deploy technology as an opportunity for business improvement.
Mike has a Bachelor of Arts in graphic design a Bachelor of Business Administration in MIS and an MBA from Wichita State University. He teaches for the school of business at WSU in MIS and is the outside technology director for the Board of AgVantis, Inc., a technology service provider in the financial sector. Mike also is active on numerous boards; Mennonite Housing, appointed – FirstNet representative for South Central Kansas, and appointed by the Governor to the Information Technology Executive Council (ITEC) for the State of Kansas also the co-chair the Cyber-security task force for the State of Kansas.

Jade Piros de Carvalho was appointed Director of Broadband Development (KOBD) for the Kansas Department of Commerce by Lt. Governor David Toland in June 2022. Prior to joining the state, she spent seven years with rural broadband provider IdeaTek, where she managed government and public affairs including advocacy efforts for rural broadband expansion policy. She also spearheaded digital equity efforts for the company.
Since joining the office, KOBD has successfully submitted federal grants for digital equity and BEAD planning, administered $83.5M in CPF funding for infrastructure, and was named the first state approved for CPF funding for digital connectivity technology. Piros de Carvalho has also grown the office from two to nine staff members, and has led the team to conduct dozens of local consult meetings to inform the state’s five-year strategic digital equity and BEAD plans.
Additionally, Piros de Carvalho spent 10 years in local government as an elected official. She completed a third term as mayor for the city of Hutchinson, KS in January. Passionate about community service, Piros de Carvalho is the recipient of multiple public service awards for her volunteer work with civic and nonprofit organizations and was named USA Today’s Kansas Woman of the Year in March 2023.
Piros de Carvalho holds a Bachelor of Arts from Wichita State University and a Master of Public Affairs from the University of Missouri, Columbia

Marc is a lifelong Topekan. He has spent the past 24 years working at the Shawnee County Information Technology Department, most recently as Director of Information Technology.
Marc is a third generation graduate of Topeka High School and went on to receive his Bachelor of Business Administration from Washburn University. Marc currently serves on the board of TopCity Marathon and has serves on the board of TSC GetDigital! In his free time Marc enjoys boating and running, he has run multiple marathons and half marathons. Marc is married to Misty his wife of 232 years. Marc enjoys supporting his two daughters Kathryn and Abigail by working swim meets.

William (Bill) Rials, Ph.D., is a professor and associate director (department chair) of the Tulane University School of Professional Advancement IT and Cybersecurity Program, where he focuses on continually delivering and updating the program curriculum based on innovative and emerging technologies. Before transitioning to academia and higher education, he had a diverse gov tech career delivering value to state agencies, local governments, and law enforcement agencies throughout the state of Mississippi. He has served in CIO, CTO, and CISO roles for local governments and also in various leadership positions within the state of Mississippi’s IT organization as a deputy to the state CIO. Dr. Rials holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Belhaven University, a master’s degree in computer information systems and cybersecurity from Missouri State University, as well as a Ph.D. in higher education administration and public administration from Jackson State University. His dissertation research involved the critical factors that affect the adoption of cloud services within the public sector. He is a noted expert in the IT and cybersecurity space and is frequently quoted by national media outlets. He is also a frequent contributor to national IT government organizations such as NASTD and NASCIO.

Bryan Schneider is a Director in the Fortinet Capture Team. His expertise includes 20+ years of experience in Public Sector advanced solutions business development for a range of Wireless carriers, including leading strategic initiatives such as Mobile Security, Endpoint protection, Digital Transformation, Mobile Forms, LBS, Interoperability, IOT and OT, covering SLED, K12 and Federal Agencies. Bryan also brings domain expertise into Public Safety, Next Generation 911, FirstNet, Telco/ISP, CJIS, Remote WFH solutions, and Federal ZTA initiatives.

Maria S. Thompson is the State and Local Government Cybersecurity Lead for Amazon Web Services (AWS). In this role, she brings over 20 years of experience in information technology, strategic planning, computer network defense and risk management. Prior to her role with AWS, Maria served as North Carolina’s first State Chief Risk and Security Officer. There she was instrumental in establishing the Whole of State Approach to Cyber. This included the development and implementation of the state’s first Cyber Disruption Plan, and the Joint Cyber Task Force (JCTF). Maria also served 20 years in the United States Marine Corps and retired as the cybersecurity chief/information assurance chief for the Marine Corps. Other security roles held includes certification and accreditation (C&A) lead for the Multi-National Forces – Iraq and senior security engineer in a joint military organization and Security Operations Center lead for a federal agency.